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William Sydney Porter. O. Henry 1862-1910. William Sydney Porter. Born in Greensboro, NC, on September 11, 1862 Mother died when he was three years old Raised by Aunt Lina, who ran a small private school. William Sydney Porter.
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William Sydney Porter O. Henry 1862-1910
William Sydney Porter • Born in Greensboro, NC, on September 11, 1862 • Mother died when he was three years old • Raised by Aunt Lina, who ran a small private school.
William Sydney Porter • Developed a taste for literature and a talent for humorous drawings • Left school at 15 • Trained as a pharmacist • Spent time at his uncle’s drugstore • Licensed as a pharmacist at age 19
William Sydney Porter • Known to be a prankster • Drew caricatures • Developed health problems • Moved to Texas in 1882, healthier climate • Worked on a cattle ranch
The Porter Family • 1887, married Athol Estes • Worked as a bank teller • Sketches sold to newspapers and magazines • Daughter, Mary
William Sydney Porter • 1894, began a humorous weekly newspaper, “The Rolling Stone” • Failed within a year • Suspected of embezzlement
William Sydney Porter • 1896, arrested and charged with stealing • Fled to Honduras • Returned to be with dying wife (age 29) • Supported daughter by working as a pharmacist and writing stories
William Sydney Porter • 1898, first short story published • “The Miracle of Lava Canyon” • Convicted of theft and sentenced to five years in prison • 1901, released from prison • Began using pseudonym O. Henry • Pseudo: false • Nym: name • “pen name”
William Sydney Porter • 1902, moved to New York City • Wrote weekly stories for newspapers and magazines • Life provided settings for many of his famous stories
William Sydney Porter • 1904, published first book of stories, Cabbages and Kings • 1906, next collection of stories, The Four Million, famous world-wide
William Sydney Porter • 1907, Married Sarah L. Coleman • Failing health • No money • Wrote seven collections of short stories in the last three years of his life • Died June 5, 1910
Interesting Facts about O. Henry • Wrote more than 300 stories, most in the last 10 years of his life • Had 23 cents in his pocket when admitted to the hospital before his death • His funeral was mistakenly scheduled the same time as a wedding… a classic O. Henry touch of irony • In 1918, a literary prize was established in his honor, the O. Henry Award
Terms to Know • Tone: feelings or emotions in a story; writer’s attitude toward subject • Foreshadowing: clues to later action; builds suspense and creates expectations to hold the readers’ attention
Terms to Know • Irony: contrast between what is expected and what actual exists or happens • Situational Irony: when a character or reader expects one thing and something totally different happens’ • Verbal: a word or phrase that is used to suggest the opposite
Give an example… • Of situational irony • Of verbal irony • Of when someone you know had a really good idea that went really wrong • Of a bad babysitting experience
William Sydney Porter • http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/classes/cs255f01/cs255students/bmaki/P11/ohenry_oval.jpg • http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/ohe03.htm • http://www.squidoo.com/O-Henry